Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

111 results found

Wald, George

(Encyclopedia)Wald, George, 1906–97, American biochemist, b. New York City, Ph.D. Columbia, 1932. He spent most of his career on the faculty at Harvard. In 1967 Wald, Haldan K. Hartline, and Ragnar Granit receive...

teff

(Encyclopedia)teff, annual plant, Eragrostis tef, of the grass family (Poaceoe), whose seeds are a staple grain in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is a gluten-free cereal grain, high in iron, protein, calcium, vitamin C, ...

lemon

(Encyclopedia)lemon, one of the citrus fruits, from a tree (Citrus limon) of the family Rutaceae (orange family), probably native to India. A small tree (to about 15 ft/5 m tall) with thorny branches and purple-edg...

gingivitis

(Encyclopedia)gingivitis jĭnˌjəvīˈtĭs [key], inflammation of the gums. It may be acute, subacute, chronic, or recurrent. The gums usually become red, swollen, and spongy, and bleed easily. Chronic gingivitis ...

Funk, Casimir

(Encyclopedia)Funk, Casimir kăzˈĭmēr fo͝ongk [key], 1884–1967, American biochemist, b. Poland, Ph.D. Univ. of Bern, 1904. He first came to the United States in 1915 and was naturalized in 1920. Credited with...

delirium tremens

(Encyclopedia)delirium tremens trēˈmənz, trĕmˈənz [key], hallucinatory episodes that may occur during withdrawal from chronic alcoholism, popularly known as the DTs. An episode of delirium tremens is usually ...

neuritis

(Encyclopedia)neuritis no͝orīˈtĭs, nyo͝o– [key], inflammation of a peripheral nerve, often accompanied by degenerative changes in nervous tissue. The cause can be mechanical (injury, pressure), vascular (occ...

Reichstein, Tadeus

(Encyclopedia)Reichstein, Tadeus tädĕˈo͞osh rīkhˈshtīn [key], 1897–1996, Swiss organic chemist, b. Vlotslavsk, Russia (now Włocławek, Poland), educated at the technical school in Zürich, where he also t...

blood clotting

(Encyclopedia)blood clotting, process by which the blood coagulates to form solid masses, or clots. In minor injuries, small oval bodies called platelets, or thrombocytes, tend to collect and form plugs in blood ve...

Williams, Roger John

(Encyclopedia)Williams, Roger John, 1893–1988, American chemist, b. India, grad. Univ. of Redlands, Redlands, Calif. (B.S., 1914), Ph.D. Univ. of Chicago, 1919; brother of the chemist Robert R. Williams, Jr. He t...

Browse by Subject